With the advent of mobile devices, there has arisen an opportunity for a viewer of media content on one media device, such as a television, to utilize a mobile device to obtain additional information related to the media content being viewed. At least some conventional arrangements employ a “feedback-based process” in which a mobile device obtains a sample of the media content output by the media device, uploads the sample to a server that compares the sample to all recorded media channels to identify the media content being viewed, and then ultimately receives back from the server pertinent additional information related to the media content being viewed. When countless mobile-device users are simultaneously using such an identification service, the server can be overloaded with requests, resulting in slow response and a potential disruption of the service.